We'll commence the worship of
God with hymn number 29. The tune is Reuben, 725. Descend from heaven, celestial
dove, with flames of pure, seraphic love. Our ruggish breast is spared. Fountain of joy, bless our grief. Warm our cold hearts with heavenly
peace. and set our souls on fire. Hymn 29, the tune of Rubin, 725. It's the best thing that you've
done. It brings the blues to life.
? I've been cursed inside ? ? I'll
stay alive ? ? When I'm happy ? ? Oh, I'll stay alive ? ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light ? ? We only can stand by and care
? ? Our saviors love and save again ? ? They are all our friends
? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? The rest of his heavenly host
? ? Over him coming down. ? Come, come, let's ride the sleigh
again. ? Take every ray of hope of day
? ? And every hour of day of night ? ? And those that are
gone ? Pray for me. Pray for me. Send
help to me. ? From heav'n's great design ?
? God in heaven's heaven above ? ? God in heaven's heaven above
? ? God in heaven's heaven above ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? And thou shalt do as thou willst
do, Where angels come and go. Beneath the sorrows in pain and
anger, Blessed by God in all his love, Hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail. God bless America. God bless
America. God bless America. ? Hail, with the colors of the
sky. ? God and his kingdom take away
? ? From heaven to earth as it were. ? ? To the people of the land ? ?
Hail, all ye people of the land ? From the Word of God, We shall read the twenty-second
chapter in the Gospel according to Matthew. The Gospel according to Matthew,
chapter twenty-two. Jesus answered and spake unto
them again by parable, and said, The kingdom of heaven his life
unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his sons, and
sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden for the
wedding, and they would not come. Again he sent forth other servants,
saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have prepared my dinner,
My oxen and my fat men are killed, and all things are ready. Come
into the marriage, that they may lie to it. And went their
ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant
took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof,
he was wroth. And he sent forth of his armies,
and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then
saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready. But they which
were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways,
and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage so those
servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as
many as they found both bad and good and the wedding was furnished
with guests when the king came in to see the guests he saw that
a man which had not on a wedding garment And he said unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said
the king to the servants, Find him hand and foot, and take him
away, and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping,
and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few
are chosen. Then went the Pharisees and took
counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent
out unto him thy disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master,
we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth. Neither carest thou for any man,
for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what
thing is that? Is it lawful to give tribute
unto Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness
and said, Why tempt ye me? ye hypocrites, show me the tribute
money. And they brought unto him a penny.
And he said unto them, whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. and unto
God the things that are God's. When they heard these words they
marvelled and left him and went their way. The same day came
to him the Sadducees which say that there is no resurrection
and asked him saying Master Moses said If a man die, having no
children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto
his brother. Now there were with us seven
brethren, and the first, whom he had married a wife, deceased,
and having no issue left his wife unto his brother. Likewise,
the second also, and the third unto the seventh. And last of
all, the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection,
whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto
them, Ye do her. not knowing the scriptures nor
the power of God for in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given
in marriage but are as the angels of God in heaven but as such
in the resurrection of the dead have you not read that which
was spoken unto you by God saying, I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. And when the multitude heard
this, they were astonished at his doctrine. But when the Pharisees
had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, They were
gathered together. Then one of them, which was a
lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, saying, Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment, and the second is thy country. Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets. While the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose
Son is he? They said unto him, The Son of
David. He said unto them, How then doth
David in spirit call him Lord? saying, The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool. If David then called him Lord,
how is he his son? No man was able to answer him
a word, neither doth any man from that day forth. Ask him
any more questions. May God bless that portion of
his holy work. May he help us in prayer. Most gracious God, O do humble
our hearts before thee, For we are poor sinners on this earth,
and thou art all glorious in heaven. Yet, Lord, we thank thee
that thou hast made a way for poor undone sinners to approach
unto thee. And thy beloved Son, the precious
Christ, is the way. Oh, that we, by praise, might
enter into that way. For Jesus is the way to God,
the way to bliss, the way to heaven and peace, the way of
forgiveness and pardon. Leave us not at a distance. May we know what it is to be
made nigh through the precious blood of Jesus nothing else can
make us nigh can cleanse us and wash us and make us clean and
acceptable in thy sight so that poor sinners here might know
by faith what it is to be found in Christ Jesus not having on
our own righteousness, which is of the Lord, but clothed in
the glorious righteousness of our precious Christ, and washed
in Thy precious blood. We humbly trust, Lord, there
is our hope. There may we fix our faith, we
pray, on Thy beloved Son, And as we gather for worship again,
may our worship be unto him, unto thy beloved Son, whom thou
hast loved with an eternal love, Lord, of whom thou hast declared,
this is my beloved Son. Hear ye this, and may we hear
thy voice as we meet for worship. May poor sinners, poor needy
sinners, hear it in the inmost recesses of the heart and the
soul, the voice of Abel, speaking to our poor hearts. We fail to
need something from heaven, for nothing on this earth can do
us good. Lord, thou art in heaven, at
the right hand of the Father, We pray that thou will send forth
that which is good for our souls, the things of Jesus, those things
that the Holy Spirit takes and applies to the souls of thy dear
people. May they be thy gracious divine
application as we turn around the world once more. We pray
that thou will send it forth, in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and with much assurance. Lord, there's nothing like thy
Word, especially when it enters our hearts, perhaps piercing
the depths of our consciences and our souls, but when it sheds
abroad the Saviour's love in our unworthy hearts, when we
hear something fresh from heaven that does our souls good where
thou dost come and instruct us and guide us in the way of life
that way that leads to eternal life so send forth thy spirit
with us each day as we gather round the world come holy spirit
come divine Take from the things of Jesus, and apply them to our
hearts, that thy word might dwell in us richly. It might be hidden
there for our good and instruction, for our comfort, for our health. The Lord be in us all, all that's
good is in thee. And Lord Jesus, come and do us
good. As we gather round the Word,
take us into the truths hidden within. Take us a little into
the depths of thy precious Word. Show us the hidden things of
God in Christ, those things hidden from the carnal mind of man,
hidden from the world and life in wickedness, but not hidden
to thy dear children. We pray, lift the light of wisdom,
for thy greatest help. We pray for the gift and the
power of the Holy Spirit. We pray for the heavenly drawings
of the Eternal Father. For no man cometh unto Jesus
except the Father draw him. Draw us, we pray, for all things
to one day. As thou didst say to Martha of
old, one thing is needed, just one. And Mary hath chosen that
good part that shall not be taken away from her. May we through
thy grace and mercy ever choose that good part, Jesus Christ
alone. Remember each one gathered round
the world, All that's known and felt in this chapel is known
by thee. But we cannot hide ourselves
from God, no more than Adam put in the garden. When thou didst
find him, Lord, when thou didst say, Adam, where art thou? Pray that thou will come and
find us where we are. Be, Lord, within our love for
them, ruined tradition so are we by nature we need thee to
find us lord by nature we're like the lost sheep far over
the hills and the mountains lord that little parable the shepherd
went to find the sheep the shepherd picked it up the shepherd took
it home thou art the good shepherd O find thy lost sheep, pick them
up, lay them on thy shoulder, take them home. Lord, sweet simplicity,
powerful truth, thou must do it all. Then come, we pray, do
our poor hearts and souls go, come right where we are, thou
knowest where each one is, My dear people, where they are? The lost sheep, where they are? The far-off sinner, where it
is? Lord, as one used to pray, go
now to them, they will never come to thee. Then we pray for
heaven's work among us, the work of the Holy Spirit. in hearts
and minds and souls, the work of salvation, the gathering in
of thy children, and the building up of thy church. For may we
be built up by Christ, in Christ, on Christ, and not tossed to
and fro with every wind of doctrine. For many winds do blow in the
day in which we live. Lord, we pray for that north
wind of thy spirit. Lord, blowing away the dust,
the rubbish, all that's unprofitable, the south winds of thy love,
to bring the love of Christ into the souls of poor needy sinners. So blessed use thy word for our
good, and for thy glory. We pray that they will remember
those in old age who were unable to be here, to be with them where
they are. May they be blessed with the
sweet consolations of thy precious gospel, the inward comforts of
thy grace, thy person and thy work. Have mercy upon the afflicted,
Blessed with healing mercies where it can please thee. The
Lord remember the tempted, the tried, have mercy upon them. Any who have come with a hidden
burden, a hidden weight or sorrow, grant them relief. The Lord Jesus,
bless thee God, do keep them in this wicked world. Lord, truly
we live in a world that's departed from Thee, and knows Thee not. Lord, it's been Thyself since
Thou didst dwell, and will be till Thou dost come again. Then
may Thy dear people be kept in the midst of it all, upheld by
grace, strengthened by Thy love. Lord, trusting in Thee, of mercy
and truth. We pray for my dear people to
the ends of the earth, that thy precious gospel might go forth
in power and in the Holy Ghost. Remember our dear brother at
Matfield, may he too be enabled to preach the unsearchable riches
of Christ. And may the Word enter into sinners'
hearts by the power of the Spirit, to uphold him and strengthen
him as he ventures on in much lowliness. Lord, comfort and
help him. We pray, Lord, for the outpourings
of thy Spirit, the upholdings of thy grace, and we pray for
mercy, truth, and peace that we might press on that we might
press to thee in heaven above, laying aside every weight and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, O to cast them to the
moles of the backs, to cleave alone to thee, so help us we
pray. Be with us as we turn to thy
precious word, make it a living word, a lively, effectual, Lord
of thine mercy, seal it with thy heart, forgive our many sins,
wash us thyself, Lord Jesus, in redeeming love and blood.
We ask these blessings in thy name. Lord Jesus, Amen. We'll continue the service with
hymn 1149. The tune is Church Lane, 735. What think you of Christ is the
test? To try both your state and your
scheme. You cannot be right in the rest,
unless you think rightly of him. As Jesus appears in your view,
as he is belongs or not, so God is disposed to you, and mercy,
or wrath, is your lot. In 1149, June Churchred claimed
735. you. Thee, O Christ, we confess, did
I ever love Thee? I love Thee We gather all behind in the grass,
and then, still in cry, we appear. ? That Jesus the King should come
in ? ? That Jesus the King should come in ? and mercy of the Lord. O say can that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? Through the night ? ? Oh, it
is time to build my day ? ? The world will have some joy ? ?
When I'm lost ? ? Turn ye heads ? ? Behold how
great Thou art ? ? The joys of the world ? ? Is there for us
? ? No hope in the night ? ? The rest I can't know is lost. ? ? Stand thou in the Savior
in us, ? Love lives where our hearts will be found. And love will be found where
our heart Where peace and harmony ever
may dwell. We'll do it with all of our hearts,
And live the way of faith and love. They never stay away, not always. I'm lost in this game, in this
game. ? Star-spangled banner ? ? O'er
the land of the free ? ? And the home of the brave ? ? Holy and wise ? ? And beautiful
world at its wise ? Thy goodness, God's grace, my
peace, and all of life's joys in this way. Our hope in thy ways and thy
kisses, ever in this world, evermore. In those troubled days, yet by
day, And still, like a new day, ? My strength is my gift and my
name ? ? My life and my day and my song ? I care for my husband, my friend.
? God save the Queen ? ? God save
the Queen ? ? God save the Queen ? Thank you. You will find the word of my
spirit this afternoon in the 22nd chapter of the Gospel according
to Matthew. Just a few words which have leaned
upon my spirit in verse 42. I think we'll perhaps read a
couple of verses. The words are, What think ye
of Christ? Let's read verses 42 and 43. Jesus that is saying what think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? And they say
unto him the son of David. He said unto them how then doth
David in spirit call him Lord? Matthew Chapter 22, verse 42. What think ye of Christ? The Lord Jesus Christ, indeed
the Gospel, never asks a hypothetical question. Amen. A question that cannot be supported
by any evidence. That's hypothetical, isn't it? Nobody can prove it. The kingdom
of devil to the devil is full of them. Beware! Beware! Satan, who was a liar from the
beginning, can never support what he says, because there's
no truth in him, nor is there any truth in his kingdom. Anywhere. There can't be, can
there? Because he's a liar. A deceiver. an opposer of truth who searches
through the world there are people confused over so many things
because the devil has got the world tied in a knot and people hide there's only
one truth I am the way the truth and Jesus asked a question and it's a question he could support
by the truth the young people here at school get questions
and sadly they're not always the truth I have grandchildren,
great-grandchildren on creation. They say things, but they can't
prove it. It's a theory. What's the use
of a theory? Every man has a different one.
But it's the truth. This book holds the truth. its truth. Remember that. And let me tell you what I'm
asking you in this unregenerate day. You see, in our chapter,
all sorts of questions have been asked of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Pharisees, the Sadducees,
the Loyal, if you read the chapter carefully, that they all had
their little side. For instance, the Pharisees,
who don't believe in the resurrection, verse 23, they ask a much ridiculous
question. There's a man with seven brothers,
one wife, One died, one married, one died, one married. All they
were trying to do was entangling the Lord. With what? Really, untruth. At the end they said, truth shall
be in the resurrection. Which of the seven? Of course
the Lord answered. I am the God of Abraham, God
of Jacob, God is not the God of the dead but of the living. They're alive, their souls are
alive. There's no marriage in heaven. Man on this earth needs
a helpmate. And God gave him a wife. He won't need one in heaven. Imperfection. eternal glory, if you say. You can see the fallacy. Now
I don't want to go into all the questions in the chapter, because
the Lord Jesus Christ was constantly surrounded by questions that
had no foundation. So the church should think it
no surprise that the church today is surrounded with questions
that have no foundation whatsoever. They're hypothetical. Unproven. But even in common law, as I
understand it, I'm no lawyer as you know. But if a lawyer
puts a question in a court and he cannot support that, the other
lawyer jumps up, objection your honour. This can't be true. Overruled. Well, it can't stand. I need evidence. I need the truth. So those of you, perhaps, oppressed,
or people are today, by theories and questions that have no foundation
at all. What do I do? Don't believe it. Flee from it. Twist your life upside down.
as it is made of the devil. What about our question? That's
the point. This is the all-important question. This is a question that if we
cannot answer we're in trouble. because it centres this glorious
person who is truth, what thinking, who Christ, who is writhing to the very depths He doesn't ask for a testimony. He wants to know what you think. The Bible speaks of those who
thought upon his name. It goes on to say they made jewels
because their thoughts were right. Let me just continue, because
there was more than one question, that's why I read the two verses.
He's like, speaking to the Pharisees, not thinking of Christ, whose
son is he? There's the question he puts
to them, Jesus himself. What would you think of Christ?
In the New Testament the word Christ means Messiah and the
Pharisees were waiting for the Messiah and they believed in
Christ the Messiah who would come They had wrong views of him but that's what they professed
that one day the glorious Messiah would come set up his kingdom
on earth and the Jews would rule and their enemies would all be
put down. Now, what they thought was completely wrong, there were
thoughts of that. Because nowhere does the Bible
teach that. But that's what they brought
in. The Jews still believed it. So Jesus said, who's son is it? They said unto him, he's the
son of Jacob. What does that mean? when you
read that in the Bible because you read of the son of David
the son of God whose son is he? they said he's the son of David
which simply means he's God he's after David's line the son of
man which in part is true. It speaks of the sacred humanity
of Christ. And they believed that he would
come as a real man, and he did, and that's it. And Jesus, well, who's son is he? He's David's son. He can trace
his lineage back, can't he? In the Bible. Luke, for instance.
Right up to the major, to the third. They were trying to often trip
him up at how Jesus comes to them. And then he said, how then doth
David in spirit call him Lord? He's the son of David. He will be a real man. But then
Jesus said, well how does he call him Lord? And he quotes
the first verse of Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord sit
thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. There was David in Psalm 110
and Jesus said David spake in the Spirit. That is the Holy
Ghost took him in the Spirit and led him into a conversation
in the Godhead. The Eternal Father speaking.
The Lord said unto my Lord, who was David's Lord, Christ. But another Lord said to him,
sit thou on my right hand. The day will come when you'll
be exalted. and sit on my right hand, what does that mean? There's
a glorious throne in heaven, the God that harvests it fills. But here he says to his son,
a precious Christ, he goes, sit with me, co-equal, co-eternal,
almighty. Jesus is God. That's the point. Sit in the right hand, till I
make Nine enemies, my footscrawl. The day is coming. And all your
enemies will be your footscrawl. They'll bit your feet. So, the Lord, in asking the question,
which they couldn't answer, because had they answered it, it would
have come right across to the doctor. They didn't believe in the divinity
of Christ. They didn't believe He was God and
man. That's a fundamental doctrine. That Christ is both man and God. What happened? And how do we
know? And no man was able to answer
the word. Neither does any man, from that
day forth, ask any more questions. Because he's locked in it. You see, they couldn't
answer to truth. It's a great point, isn't it?
What think you, Christ? It's a vital question. If you
go back, I've only just put my eye on it, chapter 16. And more questions. Let's read a
few verses from verse 13. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man am? That is, Christ the Man. And they say, Some say that thou
art John the Baptist, some Elias, others Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets. He said unto them, He hath the
same question. But whom say ye that I am? And
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the Living God. How did he know that? Verse 17. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah, for fresh young blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. He's revealed to him, he believed
him. Confirm, Peter, that he is God and man. Is it vital? Why? What help to a poor sinner? Is it a shame he does not have
divine power? give peace to part of them. No, the Bible makes it that very
clear that only God can. Jesus alone can do it. Of course it goes on, the most
beautiful text, verse 18, Matthew 60, I say also unto you that
thou art Peter, Jesus here is speaking of himself, and upon
this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Now there's truth. It's an expansion of our subject.
Upon this rock. Who? Christ. The Eternal Rock. The Eternal Son of God. The Almighty
God. You say, well you say it's beautiful,
it is to me, they love it. Upon this rock, Christ the rock,
Christ the rock of ages, Christ the sure foundation, I, I, Christ the Almighty, I
will build my church. Christ the foundation, Christ
the builder. What a truth. Some of the glorious
truths in Scripture are written in the most simple, beautiful
language. That all that matters is to be
on that rock. Isn't it? And everything else
will fail. They will. Completely. When Jesus comes
and wraps up this world, let us scroll and the heavens are
swept away. But he will stand, the eternal rock. And all that
are built on it will stand. What think ye of Christ? See the greatness of the question.
The depth of the question. How vital the question. So it's a vital tribute, just
that lovely old hymn of Newton. He questions it all the way through,
doesn't he? The vital necessity of being
on Christ. You've seen Jesus goes back to
Psalm 110 and he proves from scripture that he is both a real man and
very mild. There's just one scripture that
proves it. There are many. Many. It's a truth that poor sinners
are brought to rest on. You know, as I speak, you can
give it any thought much, but the times in the Gospels when
you see these two sacred things Christ the man, Christ God. You see them a few times in the
miracles. Take for instance, when they're
in that little boat. Do you remember it? An awful storm
came. And oh, it blew that little ship
everywhere. And the poor disciples were toiling
and rowing and struggling. They didn't know which way to
turn. Why was Jesus on one occasion?
He was asleep in the hind part of the vessel. But the Word of God says, God
neither slumbers nor sleeps. He doesn't. But there's Christ
in his sacred humanity. And he cried unto him. I've often
said to myself and have read it, This is one of the weakest
prayers in scripture. Master, carest thou not that
we perished? What a petition. Now, here's his divinity. He
arose and rebuked the Holy Spirit. You see, on the one hand is superhumanity,
on the other hand is divinity. His voice can echo through the
heavens and quell the greatest storm, and to the depths of the
sea and calm the ocean in a moment. The humanity, the deity of Christ. We will see him again. at the tomb of Lazarus. All the mourning sisters and
beloved friends there, a beloved brother in the grave. You read the account, Jesus devoid
of sympathy, sympathising sake, for I went
back to them, and sympathised with them, and felt for them. But then on the other hand, as
a man, behind that great tomb, dead, lifeless, lame dead, he
stinked at this, Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus, come forth. Where there is death, there is
no life. Humanity can be sacred. Glory is Godhead. See it there. See him in the
well. The woman of Samaria. he knows all the simplest infirmities
of man or this battle but then this woman who came
to the well what did she learn? she learned that the man who
was speaking You're my husband. I have no husband. None of us
have five husbands. It wasn't long before she was
saying, come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. He still lives. He's divine. So you know, he knows all things
that ever you did or I did. So you have the Sacred Humanity
and the Deity of Christ so beautifully set forth, and that's just three
places in Scripture. There are many. What's He human? As you say, He's both man and
God. But Beloved, if you're brought
there, the Sacred Place that we've all begins his work in man, saving
people. When the Father begins to draw
a sinner to Christ, Christ is revealed to him. He needs nobody to say
it. When the Spirit teaches that
Christ is both a real man and truly God as a real man he can
sympathize as the apostle says he is touched with the feeling
of our infirmities that's an encouragement to a poor influencer
the one thing the spirit will teach us if we're one of his We're poor sinners. We're infirmed
by sin. We're infirmed by guilt. We're
infirmed by shame. It's revealed to us what we are.
I like that in the parable of the prodigal. If you read it
through a pair of feet, he comes to this point on his journey
back. And sometimes it stops me when I read it, even now. He came to himself. One of the points of when he's
going back home to the father, to God, is represented by the
father. First, he came to himself. What was he like? A filthy, ragged,
undone waster. But he says, he's wasted all
the father's living. Wasted everything. His time,
his money, everything. And I will rise now. His repentance
working. I'll go back to my father. You've
robbed him. You've wasted all he's given
you. I don't know old men. Everything. You say, well if
I've loved him, what's the debt? What's to be paid? Every sin
is a debt. That has to be paid. And if it's not paid, sin upwinds. The book's in a bag, it's in
a laundry. Oh, have you ever been caught then? What shall
I do with a flea? I've a debt I can't pay. I just can't. It's too great,
it's too deep. I can't count my sins, I can't
number them. The sinner slams the debtor. He's got an empty purse. An empty
wallet. An empty bank. But you can see he hasn't got
the wherewithal to pay the debt. What's the debt? Ah. Sacrifice. There's one. One. What is redemption's price? What was it all through the Old
Testament in figures and charts? The blood of the Lamb. It all set in forth Christ. That the Lord Jesus came from
heaven to earth to pay that debt for his people. That poor sinner who stands Is
it wearing the Dock? And he's guilty? Guilty? Guilty? And he's got no clue. No clue
at all. That's Guilty. I've sinned against
God. Against Thee. The only way I've
sinned is done this wickedness in my son. When the Holy Spirit reveals
Christ, who has paid the debt, and things change in that sinner's
soul. It's an answer to this question. What do you think of Christ? Well, says that sinner, the reasonings
of faith and repentance in the soul I shall never go to heaven if
it's not paid. Has he paid my debt? Has he paid it for eternity? Has he taken away my sin? Those sins are so many. One of the psalms, I think it's
Psalm 22, the cry was, iniquities? Is it innumerable? I used to
think that was David saying that. I believe the Holy Spirit showed
me. This is what theologians call
the Messianic psalm. It's the cry of Christ on the
cross. And time and time come, beloved,
oh, do you see the beauty in that? My sins, he said, my sins
that are in you. He said, what was beautiful about
that scene of suffering, and shame, and blood, and guilt,
and this, beloved? They're not yours. It's mine to wash away. Mine to take right out of the
way, so that you can go to heaven. Well, thank you, God. Beloved, to a heaven-fought song,
he then began. What's it from? He shed his blood. And here's the great question
then, what think ye of Christ? Why then, in the soul of that
poor sinner, everything begins to change? He stretches out,
in prayer, the holy desire. He wants an hour. He still stands.
that with his soul drenched with sin, and he looks around his
wife, oh, and he sees all the wrong, and all the blackness,
and all that could sink him to hell. Yet he stands in his guilty
shame, and by faith, he's brought by the Holy Spirit to the cross.
This is hard work. And then something deep behind
that. It's a divine power. Here's the divinity of Christ.
You see, the man Christ Jesus suffering, but oh, the divine
Saviour now in heaven alone can forgive sin. But when that mercy
drops from heaven into the soul, I can tell you now, for one moment,
you stand in awe of your sin, your grief, your need, your helplessness,
your blackness. And the word drops from heaven
into the soul. I can remember, can't you, beloved? And that word dropped with a
divine bell into the soul. I remember once, a long, long
time ago, and I can still remember. was so much more than any man. It wasn't just their words, they
loved it. It was the power that fell from
heaven into my soul. And one moment, I stood erected,
guilty, undone, still. And there's no sin. 10,000 sins, 10,000 sins, 10,000,000
sins if you will. That's black as hell. I swore
her out. Oh no, indeed. Jesus has removed
the church's sins. What think ye of Christ? Then
he's the cheapest among ten thousand, the altogether lovely, the one
thing deep. Then you can say with Thomas,
My God, am I saved? The answer then to the question
is life. Can we answer? That's what a good hope for grace
is. It's mercy on Calvary's tree. It's love, it's compassion. To
un-memorise it. Well thank you Christ. As we sung
together, to try and test both your state and your scheme. Unless
you think right in the rest, you cannot think right. The only truth of it, Christ,
is the rock of truth, the rock of salvation. And may the Lord
himself build us there. But on this rock will I build
my church. And may we never be tossed to
and fro in every wind of doctrine that blows the world everywhere.
Rooted on the sure foundation, the eternal It's Christ crucified. Christ
crucified. Christ crucified. Why? Because the Holy Spirit had grounded
him there. There was a light for him. He preached it. So it must be. Give me his heart and answer
the question. What do you think of it? Don't
be sad. Nothing else should matter. Heaven and hell, I want. Heaven for the redeemed. Closing him is number 23. The June is Irish, 160. A man that is a real man, with
wounds still gaping high, from which rich dreams the blood once
ran, in hands and feet and sides. in 23 to an Irish 160. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? ? There are mountains in all the
place ? ? And mountains in all the place ? ? And mountains in
all the place ? ? Sing forever your praise ? ?
Let North America ? ? Sing ? ? Hymns of blessing ? ? O'er heaven
and earth ? ? Hymns to heaven and earth ? ? O'er heaven and
earth ? ? O'er heaven and earth ? ? The Lord's eternal throne ? ?
And He will love me ? ? Till the end of days ? ? And God in
highest praise ? ? Everlasting and free ? ? Forever praise his
name ? ? Where the angels sing ? ? Amen
? ? We thank thee, dear God ? ? And worship the hallowed grave ?
? And worship the hallowed grave ? ? With God's help on this day ?
? It hath been days since then it snowed ? Oh say does that star spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? May thy grace, dear Lord Jesus,
and the love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and
abide with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.